OverShadowed
by Axolotl of the Light
Summary: Since the time he began his journey, Ash has really made a name for himself. He was late and didn't get one of the traditional Starters and has thus gone on to traverse many different regions, but... did you ever wonder who those other two Starters went with? Take a look inside here, and you may find out. (First Story Attempt After a Long Hiatus) Semi-Loosely to Anime R&R, please!


Chapter One: The Next Superstar!

Leo Martin.

The sight of my name scrawled on the checklist burned into my mind, and after a moment, caused me to bury my chin deeper into the neck of my coat. I had managed to pass the PRT – Pokémon Readiness Test – the past year along with three other people, despite four names being scrawled on the list. It was Ash, Gary, and I – all three of us had turned ten the past year, and I happened to be the youngest of us three.

The fourth name was Dylan Blaise. Added to the list after my name, he was not a recent ten-year-old. In fact, he was two solid years older than the rest of us. Although he had passed his exam after his tenth birthday with flying colors, he had decided to stay back and wait.

What was he waiting for, you may ask? In a way, Dylan was the best older brother anyone could ask for. He wanted to wait and start his journey, his rite of passage, at the same time as me.

I was partly glad for that. Given, Ash was my childhood friend, and we had attended Professor Oak's summer camp a few times together, but he was admittedly forgetful sometimes. Gary on the other hand was the neighborhood bully amongst the four of us, and Dylan often had to break into between the two of us to calm an argument or three.

My eyes lifted back up to the clipboard hanging on the front gate to Professor Oak's lab, a pit of nervousness jiving at my stomach. Four names, three starter Pokémon.

The thought made me anxious, and it was hard to sit still. What if I happened to arrive late tomorrow morning and I wouldn't get the Pokémon I wanted? Or, what if I got no Pokémon at all?

From what I knew, Ash was likely to get Squirtle, and my brother Dylan wanted Charmander. However, because there were four of us starting out, and one of them just so happened to be the professor's grandson – that was Gary, by the way – he was likely to choose first, no matter who may show up before him.

"Huh? Leo?" A snide voice blurted from a couple of steps beside me, breaking my reverie. "What are you doing here? Camping out front to try and see if you can get your first Pokémon before the rest of us?"

I jumped, but regained my cool soon after realizing it was only Gary. He was perched on top of a shiny red bicycle, looking back at me with one foot planted on the ground for balance.

I didn't respond, my expression bored. After a short moment of silence, Gary huffed, shifting his position slightly. "Eh, it doesn't really matter. With the Professor being my Gramps, it's futile for you. I'll choose the best Pokémon, and you'll probably be left with something useless, Leo, - like a Grimer!" He burst out into a fit of obnoxious laughter as I stood and stared, rolling my eyes dismissively.

A bit of curiosity got to me, though. "You've already decided, then?"

Gary quieted his outburst and looked at me smugly. "Of course!" He waved passively at me, as if trying to shoo me off, "Liked I'd ever tell you, though!"

I picked my chin out from the neck of my coat, and in a satisfy-able attempt to mimic Gary's tone, I blurted, "I never asked you to tell me, Green!"

At the sudden mention of the name, Gary turned red in the face, like one of my mother's Cinnabar Tamato Burgers. I could feel a smirk creeping to my face.

"Don't call me that, loser!" You could practically see the steam blow from his ears like a train as he pointed at me accusingly. "I'll tell my Gramps not to give you any Pokémon for that!" He yelled back at me as he pushed off the ground and cycled away from me.

Suddenly angry, I yelled back, "That's not your decision to make, Green!"

A breath of cool early-Spring air seemed to drug me, and I felt calm once more shortly after Gary's departure. I eyed the clipboard again, and my name third down from the list, muttering a confirmation to myself, "It's not his call to make."

I then started on my way back home, leaving in the opposite direction that Gary had rode off in, but not before doing one more action. Taking the pencil that sat in a tray docked right under the clipboard, I drew a long line through Gary's name. It wouldn't change anything, but it did set my mind at ease about the whole Starter Pokémon situation for the moment.

Then, I'll get a good night's sleep, and let tomorrow take me where it may.

* * *

I exhaled a heavy sigh once I shut the front door of my house behind me. For a moment or two, I sat back with my back to the door in silence, once again a gazillion thoughts running amok in my head about the coming day.

"Leo?" A woman's kind and gentle voice sounded from around a wall, before popping into view with a slight smile. "You're home rather late. I thought you said you'd help out your grandfather on the farm today?"

Drat! I mentally scolded my brain for forgetting. Just as Gary's grandfather was a famous professor renowned across the Kanto region, my family owned a small farm. Well, it was rather larger for the little country-town of Pallet.

The woman, my mother Brittany, walked up to me just as I slipped off my boots. "I'm sorry, Mom," I kept my eyes low, and tried to get around the situation, "It's just… with tomorrow being the biggest day of my life, I've kind of had a lot on my mind…"

I felt a firm tug on the back of my coat, pulling me back to her as I tried to escape.  
Oh, no you don't, young man! You may be leaving on your journey in the morning, but that doesn't mean you can neglect helping out around here. Got it?"

My eyes flickered all around me as I stuttered, "I'm sorry, Mom."

The stern woman of only thirty-two years of age regained a smile rather quickly. She brushed my hair with her hand, tilting my head two be able to see both of my eyes for a moment. "Boys will be boys, I guess," she sighed more to herself than to me, "Well, he's still out in the field. Would you at least go get him for me, Leo?" She leaned closer to my ear, "And I'll have your favorite for dinner when you two get back, alright?"

I pushed away from her, slack-jawed. "Really?" I gasped rhetorically before running past her to pull my boots back on and storm out the door. "We'll be back in no time, Mom!" I called back before disappearing around the side of the house.

Calmer now, but still light on my feet, I approached a large brown bird Pokémon with three heads. Dodrio was like the family pet, and one of my closest friends, especially after my parents got divorced and Dad moved out with my brother a few years ago.

Despite how close I was to Dodrio, I knew that any sort of strong emotions could upset one or all of its heads, and getting them to stop would be even out of my control. But, there was one thing that did make it happy, and that was serving as the town alarm clock every morning.

I stopped in front of the bird and placed a gentle hand on the middle head's beak. "Hey, Dodrio, want to help me got get Grandpa?" I asked, stroking the beak, while grabbing a few Oran berries from my pocket. Each head gobbled down one.

A light crow gargled from the three-headed bird, and I hoisted myself up on its back expertly. I untied the reins from the hitching post and led Dodrio away from the house, out into the open field. I had to admit that I would miss riding Dodrio around the farm; maybe I could talk Grandpa into letting him come with me after I got my Starter.

Since it was still early spring, the night air chilled me just a bit, though my coat helped to block out most. All of the snow had only been gone for about two weeks now, and the farmland was still soggy and flooded. It was a bit harder to control Dodrio around the deeper mud holes, but we eventually found Grandpa tinkering with the tractor near the end of the field where the forest rimmed town.

"Grandpa!" I galloped up steadily to my grandfather's side, stopping Dodrio abruptly to a halt. "I'm sorry I forgot all about helping out today, Grandpa!"

The aging, balding man looked over the top of the tractor, wiping his forehead. "Leo," he chuckled. He was always high-spirited, and that always cheered me up. "No, no, it's alright! I understand you're excited."

"You're the best, Grandpa," I smiled apologetically as he jumped down slowly and watched as Dodrio pecked the few remaining strands of hair teasingly.

"Stop, stop, you old bird!" He shooed the beaks away, "I've still got some hair left! And it's not going to be plucked by you!"

I broke out in a laugh. "Mom said dinner will be set once we get back and all washed up. She says we're having her special Pallet Pasta tonight."

Grandpa perked up. "Oh, that's a treat. No doubt it's for you, then, Leo."

"You think?" I hopped off of Dodrio, and then looked back to him. "You can take Dodrio. I'll walk back, okay?"

Grandpa paused. "You sure about that, Leo? She would want you back first."

I nodded. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I won't be long. There is still a few thoughts I have to settle within my head."

"Alright, then," Reluctantly, he climbed aboard the bird, and headed back to the house where Mom was waiting. I watched him go for a moment.

The cool air licked my face again and sent shivers down my spine. I would sure miss the fresh smell of home once I leave.

After a moment, I turned away from the direction my house sat, and stared intently to the forest bordering the land. Something prickled inside me, and at first I thought it was just another shiver from the wind. However, as I made my way a little closer, something drawing me in, I realized it wasn't.

My eyes widened as I leaned closer. A clump of bushes were rustling noisily, as if something was caught within it, the sound muffled by the night.

"Hello?" I called awkwardly, knowing somewhere that it was probably just some nocturnal Pokémon wrestling with its prey. Nonetheless, I attempted again, "Who's there?"

Abruptly, all of the rustling stopped, so that eliminated the chance that the wind was doing it. And then suddenly, something came jumping out at me. I yelped, unable to see much in the dark, as I instinctually lifted my arms in self-defense.

I got threw to the ground, splashing into the mushy mud, by a long thin tail smacking against my face. My cheek stung as the area warmed.

Turning around to try and get a glimpse of my assailant, I heard what sounded like the mix of a mew and a cautious low-sounding growl. The shadowed figure floated up into the air, I managed to catch a glimpse of its large bright blue eyes, before it suddenly transformed. The much larger creature gave a shrill caw that pierced the air and rattled me, before flying off with easy flaps of its large wings.

I gaped skyward, unsure of what I saw. "That was… a Pokémon?"

* * *

Later that night, I tossed and turned exhaustively. I kept having vivid dreams of the shadow-creature that I saw out near the forest, wondering what kind of Pokémon it was. And then, despite how much I tried to put it to the back of my mind, the idea of choosing Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, or possibly being left with none at all kept coming back to the forefront of my mind.

I could feel sweat start to gather on my forehead, and I sat up in bed, panting. I looked around nervously, my heart seemingly beating one hundred miles per second. The Pidgey clock on my dresser read 1:00 in the morning; it was still hours till morning.

Pulling my legs into me, I sat with my chin on my knees, trying hopelessly to rock myself into a peaceful slumber. The ceaseless ticking of the clock poured through my ears painfully. It wasn't helping.

Finally, I decided that I was getting nowhere, and got out of bed. I quietly made my way out of the room and down the hall, careful as to not wake Mom or Grandpa as I passed by their bedrooms. Down the stairs, and over by the kitchen, sat a lone videophone. Though we weren't exactly poor, we could only ever afford that one, though I have tried multiple times to try and beg Mom to get one for my room.

I sat at the stool in front of the videophone and clicked it on, scrolling through a list of contacts located on the desktop. Blaise Residence was only a few numbers down; though my parents rarely talked with each other since the split, they allowed Dylan and I to talk almost whenever. And if I knew anything about my brother, he was still awake at this hour, completely unaware about what may possibly happen if either of us showed up late tomorrow at the lab.

The phone rang only a few times before abruptly cutting to the face of my older brother. Dylan was rather unsurprised to see me despite the time. "Hey, little bro! I should've known you'd be calling about now."

My eyebrow twitched. "Oh, shut up, Dylan," I hissed into the phone, my eyes flicking around nervously. "You can't tell me you aren't nervous about tomorrow!" My voice strained, trying to keep a low tone so no one would wake up.

Dylan's long silvery hair looked as if he had just gotten out of bed, but his eyes were lively. His tone spoke differently though, as he strained his neck away from the screen before looking back, "You're lucky I was the one that answered the call. Dad's been having rough workdays over in Viridian, so he gets home late. Safe to say he won't be at Oak's lab to see us off with Mom in the morning, and you know how stressed he gets when he gets off late."

I nodded my head, but kept my head down. That was a bummer. I hadn't gotten to see Dad since my tenth birthday back in November even though he and Dylan only lived across town, about midway between Ash and Gary's houses.

"Anyway, why would I be worried about tomorrow?" He blurted out on a lighter note. "Did you change your mind about getting your Starter or something?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, it's not that," I reassured him and he let out a mock-sigh of relief. "Didn't you ever realize that three Pokémon can't end up with four trainers?"

Dylan seemed to ponder the thought for a moment. "Honestly, you worry too much about these things, Leo. Think about it for a second –"

"- I have, Dylan!" I shouted a little louder than necessary, my voice growing irritable.

Dylan took the conversation again, flicking a strand of hair from his eyes. "Don't get all upset, Leo. Anyways, Professor Oak is a highly esteemed person. Do you honestly think that he's never come across situations like this before, and would not know to have any extra Pokémon on hand?"

Thought sunk in. Finally, I shook my head slowly, "Well, I guess that would make sense, but what if I end up not getting what I want?"

"Then get there early, little brother!" Dylan face-palmed. He looked once more away from the screen, before continuing, "Look, sitting here on the videophone talking to me is not helping either. I promise things will work out, Leo. Trust me, alright?"

After another of silence, I nodded to reassure my brother. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Dylan. Can you tell Dad I said hi when he's in a reasonable state?"

Dylan laughed, "Sure thing!" before disconnecting the call.

Even after the call ended, I sat there on the stool, my head lying against the videophone's keypad, quietly musing. "Dylan's right. Alright then, tomorrow I choose!" I shot up, and once again headed up for bed before I really won't be able to get any sleep.

* * *

That morning, I managed to wake up before Dodrio, over-filled with excitement. I took the time to dress and get cleaned up, grabbed a few pieces of toast to go, and then leapt out the front door. As I made my way around the side of the house, I accidentally spooked Dodrio and his heads had a little bit of a squabble with each other – and me – before I could get them to calm down.

I saddled Dodrio with a special seat specially for (large enough) bird Pokémon and mounted him. Safe to say with Dodrio's speed, we made it to the front of the lab in two shakes of a Meowth's tail.

I hitched Dodrio to the gate so that he wouldn't run away on me in case he got spooked, (Gary often did that whenever he could), with a gentle command of "Stay put." And then headed up the steps to the lab.

I was glad for that talk with Dylan the night before; I was raring to go. I had no worries about which Starter I'd be stuck with. No doubts.

The doorbell sounded within the lab, and I waited only a few minutes before I was greeted. In that time, I turned back down to where I had left Dodrio; the bird was raising his heads and raising the morning alarm with a loud symphonic triple-squawk.

I smiled. The door opened and a voice greeted me as I was still facing the other way, "Hm, you are rather early, young man."

I jumped only slightly, startled, as I saw the figure of an older man, younger than Grandpa and didn't seem anywhere near going bald yet, dressed in a white lab coat and a quirky smile on his face.

"Uh, yes, sir," I responded. "I am Leo Martin, here to choose my Starter Pokémon?"

The, whom I assumed as Professor Oak, looked left and right to see if anyone else was with me before continuing, "Yes, I can see that. Seems you even be my grandson," Oak chuckled lightly as he welcomed me in.

I followed him through the lab, all the way up to the second floor where I saw a wooden table with a rectangular metal box sitting on top. It seemed to be for containment purposes, as three glossy red and white PokéBalls sat inside, each about the same width apart from each other. A glass cover shielded the PokéBalls from being removed until a button was pressed.

Oak stopped in front of the table and turned to face me, "As you may understand, you will wait until the others arrive."

"I got it, sir."

My gaze moved from Oak to the three PokéBalls. In one of them sat my future partner, but I also quietly noted that there were still only three inside. Other than a round indent, there didn't seem to be space to hold anymore PokéBalls. Was Dylan wrong after all? Would the fourth trainer have to end up waiting until next year, and be lucky enough then to get one?

It didn't take long before another beginning trainer had arrived. Of course, it had to be Gary. "What? Leo's here first," he narrowed his eyes at me scornfully. He turned towards Oak, "Gramps! I'm supposed to get a Pokémon first!"

Oak sighed reluctantly. "Gary, him being here first has nothing to do with the order in which you choose your Starter Pokémon. When the third trainer arrives, it will be up to you three to decide for yourselves. I'm sure you can handle that responsibly, right?"

Gary just huffed and crossed his arms, turning away bitterly.

As we waited for either Ash or Dylan to show up, I thought about Oak's words carefully. At least it was a relief that Gary wasn't getting any special treatment, but who would be the third to get here? My bother wasn't typically one to be too late for things; especially with something as important as this.

Five horrendously long minutes tick by and Oak leaves the room to answer the front door once more. At that moment, I really wished he hadn't, because the only thing worse than being in the same room as sour-tongued Gary, was being stuck in a room with an angry sour-tongued Gary. Joy to the world.

Two sets of footsteps march up the stairs, and I find myself anxiously turning toward the door to see who it is.

The distinct scar under the left eye, the long silver hair now tied into a neat ponytail, and the bright orange bands held around each knuckle with two metal "brackets" on each, and I knew who it was.

"Dylan, you're here," I run to greet my older brother happily. He greets me with a smile and a handshake.

"See, looks like you're here, after all. No problem," he teases me playfully.

After a moment, we all stand beside each other, in front of Oak enough to each be able to see the container equally. I look around hesitantly, taking a quick glance at the door behind us. "Wait a minute, Professor? Aren't we going to wait up for Ash?"

Oak raises an eyebrow curiously. "Yes, that other boy that was supposed to come as well, right?" I nodded. "Well, he'll just have to come when he gets here. I've made you wait long enough, right, Leo?"

It was true. I could hardly contain myself any longer. I wanted to meet the Pokémon already. Still, though, it just doesn't seem quite right to leave Ash out of it. He was my friend, too, after all…

"Now," Oak spoke up, pressing a button on the containment stasis to let the glass split into two halves and slide away. "As the three of you know, there are three Pokémon that beginning trainers may choose from to help them start their journey safely. One is held in each of these PokéBalls here."

He grabbed the one on the far left of the table. "Trainers may choose from the Grass-type, Bulbasaur," he held the ball out in front of him and tapped the single button on the front. The ball opened and released a small creature from a beam of energy. It was various shades of green, stood on four feet, and had a bulb on its back. My eyes lit up at the sight of it as it stretched and yawned eagerly.

Oak grabbed the next PokéBall. "In here contains the Fire-type, Charmander," just as before, the ball opened and transported a Pokémon in front of us. This one was a bit taller than Bulbasaur, and was orange with a yellow belly. A flame flickered at the end of a long tail. I was intrigued to say the least as its welcoming action was by scratching its head with one of its feet.

Finally, Oak grabbed the third PokéBall. "Lastly, there is the Water-type, Squirtle," and a small blue turtle Pokémon with a curled tail came out to greet us beside its buddies. The Squirtle shook the slumber from its limbs, and then squirted a spray of bubbles at the nearest target. Coincidentally, that was Gary.

"Hey, you!" Gary fumed angrily at the little turtle, who cowered behind the Charmander. "I already had one shower, I don't need another."

At that, I let out a burst of laughter. "Haha, maybe it knew you smelled, Green!"

Gary bit his lip and growled at me. Dylan smiled quietly, but I knew he sided with me.

"Now, enough with the bickering," Oak cleared his throat. "So, which of you will choose first?"

The three of us looked at each other. Dylan held up his arms and took a step back, "I'm excited about choosing, but I don't really care which order we go in."

Gary glared at me, and I almost felt like cowering behind Dylan just as the Squirtle did. "What if we did Rock-Paper-Scissors?" I asked, midway turning to Oak for confirmation. "That way, it would be still fair."

Oak nodded. "An excellent idea, Leo. What do you think, Gary?"

"I'm up for it, I guess," Gary flicked his brown hair out of his eyes and smirked. "Be prepared to lose, though, Leo."

My gaze hardened with determination. "I don't care which of us wins the bet," I tried to stay under control as we faced each other with a fist up.

"One…" We both chorused. "Two…" Our glares locked. Just once I'd love to see his arrogant pride get knocked down a peg. "Three."

The moment of truth as we looked down at our hands together. I had chosen paper, though I was sure I was going to choose rock. Gary had ended up with scissors, unfortunately.

"Yes! I win," Gary stuck his tongue out at me immaturely and shook his fist in my face, still in the scissors position. "I pick before you both!" He chirped merrily (as merrily as Gary can get anyways without wanting to punch him in the face) as he took the center position among the patiently waiting Starters to see who he would choose.

"Alright, Gramps," Gary stated, his eyes glazing slowly over each Starter in turn, "This is easy! I've already decided. The one I pick…" He didn't get a chance to finish, however.

"Hey, Green, I think you have a fan," I joked, bursting out with a fit of laughter still beside Dylan. The cause of my outburst was the Squirtle now clinging to Gary's leg in a tight hug.

"Huh?"

"That is some weird affection," Dylan muttered, half-sarcastically.

Gary looked down at his leg. Sure enough, there was the Squirtle, as if tied securely with an insect's String Shot. I could see him starting to blush enviously, biting his tongue to keep from responding to me.

"Well, Gary," Oak spoke up. "You're not going to ignore this young Squirtle's affection for you, are you?"

Gary was in a bind now. After a second or two, his blush lessened only a tiny bit, as he crouched down to pick up Squirtle. "No problem, Gramps. This was the best one anyway. Right, Squirtle?"

"Squirt!" The Squirtle nodded happily in confirmation.

"Alright, that's settled then," Oak then turned to Dylan and I. "What about you two?"

I felt reluctant to choose next. Sure, there was still the Starter that I wanted unclaimed, but would it still be alright to go before my brother?

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Dylan. "You can choose next," he winked at me.

"You sure…?" I asked, before nodding after a moment.

I walked over to the Bulbasaur confidently and bent down. "I knew since yesterday who I would pick," I held out my hand. "Well, Bulbasaur – do you want to be comrades?"

Bulbasaur blinked at me slowly. After a moment, he seemed happy to oblige by walking a few steps closer and putting his paw in my hand. As if it was a done deal.

I picked up Bulbasaur and took a few steps back, nodding to Dylan. "You're next, then, bro," I stated simply.

As there was only one Pokémon left, Dylan met eye-to-eye with the Charmander. "Hey, little guy, what do you think?" He reached out his hand to pet the Fire-type lizard.

Curiously, the Charmander flicked its tail back and forth, making the flame waver even more, and seemed to blush cutely. "Char-char," it stammered timidly.

Dylan looked from me and then to Oak. The professor nodded. "That Charmander is female."

"Female?" Dylan questioned blankly.

I smirked at my brother's reaction. "Looks like you have your work cut out for you, Dylan," I kneeled in front of the Charmander to place my new Bulbasaur back on the ground.

"What?"

I turned back to him with a smile. "Hey, what do you think of Basarao?"

Dylan blinked. "Basa-what? What are you talking about, Leo?"

I turned back to Bulbasaur, who was staring at me curiously. "Bulbasaur's… nickname. What do you think of Basarao?"

Dylan looked at the Bulbasaur in question. The Grass-type gave a huge grin and pawed the floor like he was getting ready to charge. I laughed. "Looks like he likes it."

"Hey, Leo?" Gary suddenly spoke up, his new Squirtle still in his arms. Both of us – Dylan and I – turned to him. Why don't we have a battle now that we're both trainers?"

"Huh?" I deadpanned. "What… do you mean?"

Gary huffed. "Don't play dumb! A battle! With our Pokémon!"

"Oh."

"Wait a minute, Gary," Dylan spoke up. "We all just got our Pokémon. None of us have any experience with using these little guys in battle. Why don't wait until we get to Viridian City at least before you challenge anyone to a battle?"

Gary listened. "Hm, I guess that makes sense… Well, Leo, are you brave enough to take me on?"

I stood up with Basarao again in my arms. "It's a deal then. With Basarao, I'll be the next superstar!" I grinned confidently.

* * *

Current Pokémon

**Ash**

None

**Gary**** Oak**

Squirtle (None, Male)

**Leo Martin**

Bulbasaur (Basarao, Male)

**Dylan Blaise**

Charmander (None, Female)


End file.
